Starbucks Shuffles Senior Leadership Team

Starbucks promoted leaders across international operations.

After reporting mixed first-quarter results last month, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) this week announced that CEO Howard Schultz has made key appointments to the company's senior leadership team. The company provides the following information:

John Culver has been promoted to group president, China and Asia Pacific (CAP), Channel Development and Emerging Brands. Before, he worked as head of the CAP region, in which he's spent the last six years developing the people, business model, and infrastructure needed for Starbucks' international growth. While he handles the portfolio of emerging brands, he will continue to oversee the growth of the company's CAP business.

Jeff Hansberry will be promoted to president of Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, and will report to Culver. After three years with Starbucks building the Channel Development and Emerging Brands team, Hansberry will be responsible for the region's retail business and channel presence in Asia and China. He will be based in Hong Kong.

Cliff Burrows has been promoted to group president, Americas and U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Teavana. Burrows' started his 12 years with Starbucks in the EMEA region, where he led both the U.K. market as well as the region overall. He moved to the U.S. in 2008 to work on the Americas retail business, integrating Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, and soon Teavana into the company's retail stores.

Michelle Gass will return to the U.S. this summer to work directly with Schultz. In the past, she helped prepare the "U.S. transformation agenda of 2008-2009." Over the last two years, she led the EMEA region through its turnaround and growth efforts. The company reports that Gass leaves the EMEA region in significantly better health than when she arrived, saying it's on a "strong trajectory of sustainable growth and profitability."

Kris Engskov will be promoted to senior vice president and president of EMEA. He will report to Burrows and continue the work of the EMEA Renaissance Plan. Notably, Engskov has led the transformation of the UK business.

Author

Kevin Chen covers the tech sector in China. With degrees in history and economics, he scours government sources, magazines, blogs, and earnings reports before making any investment decision. You can follow him at @TMFKang or on Google+.